BEING part of Bathurst Regional Council has been an interesting experience for Alex Christian, but he has no regrets about putting himself forward to be a councillor.
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Cr Christian, also a serving police officer, was one of two candidates not to run on a ticket at last September’s local government election.
At that point, he had lived in Bathurst for five years and was running a campaign based on issues that may not have been grand, but impacted everyone in the community.
One of his key items, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) network for the central business district, is well on the way to being a reality and another, a contentious roundabout, is progressing.
“When running for council I put my name to two of the more formidable projects such as CCTV for the CBD and the much-discussed Mitre, Suttor and Lambert [street] roundabout, because that’s what the community were passionately asking for,” he said.
“When I named the CCTV and roundabout as two of my most important policies, someone said ‘Mate, you’re either brave or stupid because no one’s been able to get one of those projects off the starting blocks in twenty years, let alone both’.
“Not wishing to tempt fate, but I genuinely believe both projects will be completed in my first term, something I’m very proud of.”
But in his first 12 months on council, Cr Christian has put his support behind projects he likely didn’t envision he would be leading when he signed up for the job.
He has helped to reignite the war on trolleys, taking people and major retailers to task over the abundance of trolleys littering the streets.
He also became a huge supporter of an inflatable aqua park that Queensland-based investors were proposing for Chifley Dam.
Construction will commence for the aqua park in early October so it can be open before the end of that month.
“I’m really excited to be involved with the deputy mayor in bringing the aqua park to Bathurst,” Cr Christian said.
“It’s going to be a fantastic addition to the area and great for tourism. Something the entire family can enjoy.”
He said that being a councillor “isn’t rocket science”, and he will continue to work hard to make the right decisions for the community by listening to opinions and doing his homework.
“Being elected to Bathurst Regional Council is a tremendous honour and I’m doing everything I can to repay the faith shown in me by those who supported me.
“I’m really enjoying the responsibility.”
